Alex instinctively wandered back to the booth that he had been sitting in. It was now occupied by a pretty young woman in high 80’s fashion. The only thing larger than her feathered Linda Evans hairdo was the padded shoulders of her shirt.

Obviously he’d been standing there staring at her too long when she looked up and questioned “What?”

“Oh, um… thought you were someone else.” He spun around, still in a daze, nearly taking out the waitress behind him.

“Hey! Like, oh-my-god, watch it! K?”

“Sorry! I, um…” Was all Alex could manage as he headed for the front of Casa Grande. “Loser!” he heard her say, as he stepped out into the bustling crowd of the mall.

Everything was new and neat and clean. Two little Madonna wanna-be’s passed him by, all lace gloves, scarfs, high heels, blood red lipstick and a ton of rubber bracelets.

Their passing didn’t go unnoticed by a group of skater boys standing outside of the news stand across the way.

“You’re not in Kansas anymore Toto” Alex blurted outloud.